Author: Iwao Takahashi

Hello everyone. This is Shoji Shimura from Atelier Shimura.
Today is the third and second part of a lecture explaining Takahashi Iwao's book "Reading the Core of Social Issues."

"Reading 'The Core of Social Issues'" Author: Iwao Takahashi Publisher: Shunjusha (2024)

【table of contents】
Lecture 1: When we change, society changes
Lecture 2: The future of globalization
Lecture 3: The Spiritual Life of Modern People
Lecture 4: Theosophy and Social Issues Lecture 5: Japanese Culture at the Base of Society Lecture 6: Spiritualization of Everyday Life, Solitude and Community
Afterword

This book is an interpretation of one of Rudolf Steiner's major works, "The Heart of the Social Problem," but this time we will be looking at the latter part, particularly its application to modern society. The themes are broadly divided into the following three areas:

The first is how theosophy, the foundation of Steiner's thought, relates to social issues.
The second question is how we should view social issues in Japan, focusing on the historical forces underlying Japanese society.
And third, what role should the spiritual life play in our daily lives?

Theosophy and Social Issues

First, Takahashi broadens his perspective a little from the main text of "The Core of Social Problems" and introduces Steiner's essay "Theosophy and Social Problems." In order to understand Steiner's social thought, it is important to understand the relationship with Theosophy, which is the background of his view of humanity.

Theosophy is a spiritual movement advocated in the late 19th century by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott. The Theosophical Society was founded in New York in 1875 and had a wide-ranging influence. Its purpose was to explore ancient wisdom and discover universal truths common to all religions and philosophies. It can be considered a meta-religious movement of thought. Steiner was deeply involved in this movement, and later developed his own version of "Anthroposophy."

The multi-layered structure of the human being (body, soul, spirit)

A distinctive feature of the Theosophical and Anthroposophical views of humanity is that they do not see humans as merely material beings. As Takahashi points out, Steiner, unlike the general mind-body dualism (a view that sees the body and mind as separate entities), saw humans as multi-layered beings consisting of three layers: body, soul, and spirit.

Let's take a closer look. First, there is the dimension of the physical "body" that serves as the foundation of human existence. However, life cannot reside in matter alone. Steiner envisioned an "etheric body (living body)" as something that gives life to the body. Only when this body resides can the body be given life.

Next, there is the dimension of the "soul." This is the world of inner experiences such as emotions and thoughts. The "astral body (emotional body/consciousness body)" plays an important role in this conscious experience.

And there is an even higher layer, the dimension of "spirit." This is the core of Steiner's thought, and it is the dimension where the inherent essence of human beings, that is, the "ego," exists. This ego is a spiritual being, and one of the major goals of anthroposophy is for the ego to evolve spiritually.

Perspectives on social issues

If we take this view of humanity as "body, soul, and spirit" as a given, our approach to social problems will also change. In other words, simply solving economic and material problems will not make people happy. Social problems cannot be truly solved unless we also solve problems related to the inner self (soul) and essence (spirit) of human beings. View of humanity and social problems are inseparably linked.

Furthermore, from a theosophical perspective, we believe that personal problems are linked to larger issues of cosmic evolution. We need to approach social issues with a broader perspective, knowing that through our personal problems we are also facing cosmic issues.

Social Law and Perspectives on Japanese Society

So, what laws should a society based on this view of humanity follow? Steiner teaches that it is important for us to overcome selfishness and build relationships based on sharing (altruism) and mutual aid and trust. Furthermore, our task is to build a social system in which these principles function.

Overcoming selfishness: Separation of labor and wages

What does it mean specifically to overcome selfishness? For example, the state in which increasing personal wealth becomes the sole goal is a manifestation of the selfishness that underlies today's excessive commercialism. To counter this, Steiner consistently advocated the "separation of labor and wages."

For Steiner, work is not essentially a means to earn wages, but a spiritual act in this world (a contribution to others). This spiritual act of work must be separated from the economic issue of earning a living. His argument is that if this separation is not achieved, spiritual life will be subordinated to economic motives, and spiritual freedom will be impaired.

This leads to the idea of a basic income, where society distributes the money needed to live to people regardless of the results of their labor. Steiner believed that this would free us from economic motivation (selfishness) and enable truly free labor.

Mutual trust and the social organism

Another important aspect is "mutual trust." We are kept alive by the labor of others. Takahashi cleverly describes this as an "other-supply economy," meaning an economy where we are supplied by others, rather than a self-sufficient economy.

Division of labor should be based on mutual trust. I myself work in dyeing and weaving, but I cannot do everything by myself, such as preparing the thread, dyes, and looms. Living in this world means that we are sustained by the division of labor with others and the blessings of nature.

To understand the essence of division of labor, it is essential to view society as a whole as a single organism (living thing). Society exists first as a living thing with organic connections, and we ourselves play a role as parts that control its life activities (such as eyes or limbs).

Steiner called the sense of always being aware of the relationship between one's own work and society as an organism as a whole the "social sense." He repeatedly emphasized the importance of intuiting society as a living organism, rather than viewing it as simply a collection of institutions.

The foundation of Japanese society: Yoshihiko Amino's "horizontal society"

What happens when we apply Steiner's arguments to the context of Japanese society? Takahashi introduces the arguments of historian Yoshihiko Amino. Takahashi and Amino taught at night school at the same time, and he uses Amino's research to examine the foundations of Japan's social structure.

Amino's important contribution is his discovery that medieval Japanese society was not just a "vertical society" of those in power and those ruled, but also a widespread horizontal "horizontal society." Non-settled, non-agricultural people who were not tied to a specific place, such as artisans, performers, and religious figures, played a major role in this horizontal society. They moved between villages, building free, network-like human relationships that differed from vertical relationships of dominance.

Muen and Asylum

The existence of this free horizontal network leads Amino to present the important concepts of "muen" (unrelated) and "kugai" (public domain).

"Muen" refers to a state of freedom from worldly constraints such as blood ties, local ties, and master-servant relationships. While this freedom comes with the downside of not receiving protection from anyone, entertainers and religious figures lived in a horizontal society bound together by this principle of muen.

The free space where such unrelated people gather is known as the "public realm." Temple and shrine grounds, markets, and riverbanks were established as spaces where secular power could not intervene. These are also known as "asyls" (sanctuaries or refuges). The existence of asyls in medieval Japan resonates with the realm of spiritual life that Steiner emphasized, which was independent of state power.

However, with the establishment of the feudal domain system in the Edo period and the expansion of control to every corner of the country, this free space was lost. It is said that the "public realm" was transformed into the "world of suffering." As control spread, horizontal connections were suppressed, and nomadic people such as entertainers became targets of discrimination.

The role of the mind in everyday life

What does a tradition like "asylum," seen in medieval Japan, mean in modern society? How should we confront current social issues? This is where "fundamental ideas" become important.

In order to fundamentally solve social problems, we need to go beyond superficial institutional design and go back to the fundamental ideas of the society or ethnic group in question.

The disconnect between capitalism and spiritual life

Currently, capitalism is at the root of our society, with economic life surpassing spiritual and legal life. Steiner points out that the biggest problem with modern capitalism is the complete separation of spiritual life and material life (economic life). As economic life becomes an end in itself and runs wild, the question arises: "How can we find spiritual meaning and value in our everyday lives and work?"

However, Steiner also points out an important point: it is also a mistake to completely separate spiritual life from economic life. For example, Steiner's intention is not to complete one's spiritual life solely through meditation or pure contemplation, and to escape from the real world.

This is because, since we are born into this world and live as material beings, we cannot help but be involved in economic activities. Steiner believes that connecting material life with spiritual life is our mission and the true meaning of spiritual life.

Spiritualization of everyday life and the duality of "home"

So how can we connect spiritual life with material life? The key is to "spiritualize everyday life." Here, Takahashi offers an interesting discussion about "home," the origin of our daily lives.

The home is usually considered the starting point of private ownership, which can also be the starting point of egoism.

However, based on Amino's earlier discussion, there is also the perspective of thinking of the home as the "origin of muen." In other words, the home is seen as a sacred space (asylum) that cannot be invaded by external public or secular authorities. You can think of it as "my property" or as "an inviolable sacred space." This duality forms the foundation of our social consciousness.

When Steiner himself was building the Goetheanum (a base for the Anthroposophical movement built in Dornach, Switzerland), he said, "I want to create an asylum for gypsies." In Amino's words, it was a base for spiritual activity where "unconnected" people who had been freed from the constraints of existing society could gather. When we create communities, the perspective of an asylum free from the secular world will likely be important.

The origin of spiritual life

When we reinterpret the home as an asylum, we gain a perspective that allows us to spiritualize our everyday lives. Talking about spiritual life solely through abstract concepts will not have the power to change reality. Spiritual life must be connected to real economic and material life, and contribute to the health of society.

The starting point is to deepen the spirituality of each and every one of our daily lives. While it is difficult to transform society as a whole, anyone can spiritualize their own daily life. By considering one's home as a sacred place, it becomes possible to connect economic life with spiritual life in all parts of one's daily life.

Practical Example: The Jubilee Year and Depreciating Currency

Finally, Takahashi introduces the ancient Jewish "Jubilee" as a concrete example of how to resist the excesses of capitalist economy and reclaim spiritual life.

This was a system in which all debts were forgiven in the 50th year (or more precisely, the year following seven seven-year Sabbath years), and all land that had been sold was returned to its original state. This reset year was designated a sacred year. It is thought that the wisdom to prevent the uneven distribution of wealth and the rigidification of social classes caused by the perpetuation of private ownership was built into society.

The German economic thinker Silvio Gesell attempted to apply this periodic liquidation system to the modern monetary system. Gesell, who also attracted the attention of Steiner, proposed the concept of "depreciating currency," in which the value of money decreases over time.

While ordinary money retains its value (ignoring inflation), Gezer money deteriorates over time and loses its value. Therefore, people do not hoard money, but try to circulate it by spending it. This is very similar to the idea behind the Year of Jubilee.

In other words, the idea is that wealth cannot be accumulated infinitely, but should always circulate and be periodically reset. While this may be difficult to accept from a modern economic perspective, shifting our awareness from the "accumulation" of wealth to the "circulation" of it provides a perspective that could be an effective prescription for excessive economic lifestyles.

Over the course of three articles, we have explained Takahashi Iwao's book "Reading the Core of Social Issues." We hope that you will take the time to read the original text yourself and further deepen your contemplation of Steiner's thought and the state of modern society.

This is a reading guide by Shoji Shimura (CEO of Atelier Shimura).
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